Player focus: Energetic Ox excels against City

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a revelation for Arsenal during their 2-1 win over Manchester City at Wembley.

The Ox has been looking a vastly different player during the latter stages of this season and his performance in the FA Cup semi-final against City was one of his best.

The 23-year-old deservedly won Man of the Match and was the highest rated player on the pitch on WhoScored.com (8.22) despite not even scoring himself.

He only had a pass success rate of 59%, which is pretty low considering his average in the league is 83%. However, it didn’t appear to matter.

The Ox completed six dribbles out of the seven he attempted – the most out of any player on the pitch – won an aerial duel, a tackle and a corner.

What’s more is that as brilliant as Nacho Monreal’s unexpected equalising goal was, it was all about the Ox’s assist. A stunning cross from out wide, perfectly weighed to land on Nacho’s boot.

And he just didn’t stop.

The man looked like the energiser bunny, bursting through City’s defense well into extra time before he was subbed off for Francis Coquelin.

It’s fantastic to see the Ox’s confidence developing so well. Everyone knew he would be a fantastic footballer if he could just get his head in the game and stop over-complicating simple tasks. He’s done precisely that and is excelling.